Still not a box!

Late April Early May001, originally uploaded by James Hemsley.

Norah and Cy in the not-a-box.

Chalk the Walk 3

Late April Early May012, originally uploaded by James Hemsley.

We really liked this rendition of "The Great Wave off Kanagawa" by Japanese painter Katsushika Hokusai.

Chalk the Walk 2

Late April Early May010, originally uploaded by James Hemsley.

Can you believe that this is chalk?

This was my favorite; done by an artist who flew in from CA to draw it. The beauty of this drawing was amazing--I couldn't see the street underneath, and it had real depth and purity. It was really cool.

Chalk the Walk

Late April Early May009, originally uploaded by James Hemsley.

We went up to a little town called Mount Vernon for their annual "Chalk The Walk" event, where they block off a couple city blocks, and give artists a place to make beautiful chalk "paintings" on the street. IT was really unbelievable that some of the art was going to just wash away in the next rainfall.

Game Day (April 32nd)

Late April Early May014, originally uploaded by James Hemsley.

James and I hosted another Game Day on April 32nd (May 2nd!). We had a fantastic turnout, and a lot of fun. Here are James and Norah playing a shape stacking game. The person whose tower lasts the longest wins!!!

Part Mommy 4

Late April Early May007, originally uploaded by James Hemsley.

Two "P's" in her little car. Sorry for the poor focus on this one.

I don't know when she does this. I just find the letters in these random places.

Part Mommy 3

Late April Early May020, originally uploaded by James Hemsley.

Two "O's" on an Opened paint can!

Part Mommy 2

Late April Early May022, originally uploaded by James Hemsley.

The next chair revealed three "S's" and a steamroller (which starts with S!)

Part Mommy 1

Late April Early May023, originally uploaded by James Hemsley.

Norah may look like James in almost every way, but she definitely inherited some of my uber-organized personality, as evidenced in the next 4 photos of refrigerator magnets.

I was cleaning one day and saw these two W's on a chair. I thought to myself "Hmmm...I guess Norah thought the two W's would be better over here." But she wasn't finished!

Princess Ethan's handiwork

Late April Early May054, originally uploaded by James Hemsley.

With a little help from Norah of course. We had to clean up a mess like this about 3 times a day! Alessia kept apologizing, and I must admit, I was a little stressed about the condition of the house, but it was worth it having such fun visitors!

Princess Ethan

Late April Early May053, originally uploaded by James Hemsley.

Ethan was really liking Norah's princess crown. He wore it around for almost 1/2 a day! It's hard to believe that the angelic boy in this photo could do what you will see in the next photo to my poor living room. Like I said, he is ACTIVE!

Swimming in April 2

Late April Early May082, originally uploaded by James Hemsley.

Here they are splashing away!

Swimming in April

Late April Early May094, originally uploaded by James Hemsley.

We had an 85 degree day while Ethan was visiting (Nonna and Alessia were here too!), so we got out the kiddie pool, and let them play for about an hour. They had a blast, and stayed in that pool. It was nice not to have to chase Ethan around for a while. He is one ACTIVE little boy!

Not a Box!

Late April Early May061, originally uploaded by James Hemsley.

Ethan came to visit in late April, and he and Norah had a lot of fun together!

They particularly liked playing in this big box. Who needs toys when you have a big box?

Norah has a book called "Not a Box"--it's a cute story of a bunny pretending in his very own not-a-box. This box still graces 202 Linden Court and Norah climbs in and out of it daily! Another story about the box soon....

Easter

Late April Early May106, originally uploaded by James Hemsley.

Norah loved Easter. We decorated some eggs, and then she hunted for them on Easter Day. She even enjoyed the egg salad we made out of the eggs!

She still had the cast on (you can see it in the picture). And, a beautiful Easter Dress from Uncle Nick and soon-to-be Aunt Sunny.

Sophia Go?

Late April Early May104, originally uploaded by James Hemsley.

Sophia and her parents, Brett and Anita, came to visit while Anita defended (successfully) her PhD in history. Norah and Sophia had a blast together--even if Norah wasn't walking yet.

Here they are banging out a tune on the piano.

Norah still asks me: "Sophia Go?" She clearly misses her!